LOS ANGELES — The first attack against mayoral candidate Rick Caruso came less than 10 minutes into Tuesday night’s debate at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.
City Councilman Joe Buscaino, before discussing his housing plans, quipped that he was glad Caruso “finally” was on the debate stage.
“I think I was attacked,” Caruso told the audience, looking amused. “It felt like an attack.”
Nearly all of the big-name candidates for Los Angeles mayor took aim at Caruso, attacking the real estate developer over his police spending plan, his support for District Attorney George Gascón and his personal yacht in the first televised forum to feature all five onstage.
The attention on Caruso underscored his threat in the race. Since entering last month, Caruso has been spending big on his campaign, airing television commercials, posting YouTube ads and purchasing other forms of paid media to tout his plans to fix L.A.’s crime, homelessness and corruption.
While most of the other candidates have had to raise money in $1,500 increments — the maximum permitted per donor per election cycle — Caruso, the developer of the Grove, Americana at Brand and other shopping centers, has been able to tap his personal wealth.
When Buscaino went on to discuss his efforts to combat homelessness in his district, which stretches from San Pedro to Watts, Caruso hit back.
“The fact is, since you’ve been a city councilman, there’s 700 more people on the streets in your district alone,” Caruso said. “So I don’t know you quantify success, when the problem has gotten worse under your leadership.”
The debate was co-sponsored by The Times, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future and Fox 11, with Times columnist Erika D. Smith and Fox 11 anchor Elex Michaelson serving as moderators.
The event was the second major televised debate in the run-up to the June 7 primary. And it was the first to feature Caruso on the same stage as his most prominent rivals — Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), City Attorney Mike Feuer and City Councilman Kevin de León and Buscaino.
For 90 minutes, the five candidates engaged in a freewheeling debate that touched on homelessness, public safety, police staffing, the tenure of Gascon and the track record of Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Woven throughout the discussion were attacks on Caruso. Feuer took aim over rent control, which helps keep rents affordable, but which is opposed by many developers.
“You haven’t done much in the way of building homeless and affordable housing,” Feuer told Caruso. “All the opportunities you had instead, you’ve opposed rent control.”
Caruso, in response, began with an apology to Feuer.
“Mike, I’m sorry, but you opened this door,” Caruso said, before reminding the audience that Feuer’s office was raided by FBI agents in the sprawling scandal involving the Department of Water and Power and double-dealing by lawyers.
At another point, Feuer turned a question about Garcetti’s performance into another opportunity to challenge Caruso, asking the neophyte politician whether he was prepared to release his last five years of taxes. Caruso said he would, as soon as all the other candidates were ready to release theirs.
“I think you have a $100-million yacht that is registered under the flag of the Cayman Islands,” Feuer said, in issuing his challenge. “I think people here ought to be concerned about whether people are paying their fair share of taxes. I am prepared to release my taxes for the last five years tomorrow. Are you?”
After quipping about what a “great question” his opponent had asked, Caruso said: “I will release everything that I’ve paid in taxes, including the taxes on that boat, which I paid. I will release everything that I pay in taxes and believe me, I pay my fair share.”
De León, meanwhile, questioned how Caruso would pay for his proposed additional police officers without raising taxes or cutting the budget “to the bone.” “You can’t have it both ways,” De León told Caruso, who responded that he would focus “on growing the pie” by creating new revenue for the city by adding jobs and businesses.
More attacks continued throughout the night, although the mood was light-hearted at some stages.
“This is obviously a three-against-one or something,” Caruso said at one point.
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Staff Writers Julia Wick and Benjamin Oreskes contributed to this report.
